Poster Stamps
Arrangement
Poster Stamps are collected in many different ways.
Because of that, the stamps listed in this area will be presented in different ways.
Advertising Poster Stamps will be presented in alphabetical order, by business or trader name as commonly used in contemporary business listings, such as Kraks Vejviser. If the business or trader name can not be determined, then the item will be listed according to the product name. In cases where there is some ambiguity about the name, or if there is a business name and a trader name, there will be simple entry with a link to the full listing.
Event Poster Stamps will be listed chronologically by year and then alphabetically by location. If there are multiple listings for the same location in the same year, then they will be arranged in order by month and day.
Publicity & Fundraising Poster Stamps will be listed, within each subcategory, alphabetically by group or organization name.
There will also be other groupings included on this website, click on the heading to see more detailed information:
Poster Stamp "Sets" or "Series"
In some cases, individual advertisers may issue extensive sets of poster stamps with a common theme. Sometimes the theme will relate to the business line or products sold, other times it may feature other topics. These sets may be illustrated on a separate page in order to keep the main pages more concise.
Common Design Types
Sometimes a publisher will issue poster stamps that constitute a set or series, and are available for use by multiple advertisers. The advertiser's information may be overprinted, or it may be integrated into the design
Poster Stamps by Printer
Sometimes, groups of poster stamps were created by individual printers that had a unified theme or appearance, even though they were issued for different advertisers.
Additionally, some collectors arrange their holdings by specific printer.
Some of these specialized groupings will also be illustrated.
Poster Stamp Albums
Some poster stamp albums were generic, with blank pages or simple gridlines.
There were also issue specific poster stamp albums, some only designed for a single set or series.
I have also seen a few poster stamp albums that were issued by specific poster stamp printers and publishers, some of which have illustrations provided for specific stamps.
Finally, there are albums issued by sponsors of collecting competitions.
These will also be illustrated on this website.
Poster Stamps are collected in many different ways.
Because of that, the stamps listed in this area will be presented in different ways.
Advertising Poster Stamps will be presented in alphabetical order, by business or trader name as commonly used in contemporary business listings, such as Kraks Vejviser. If the business or trader name can not be determined, then the item will be listed according to the product name. In cases where there is some ambiguity about the name, or if there is a business name and a trader name, there will be simple entry with a link to the full listing.
Event Poster Stamps will be listed chronologically by year and then alphabetically by location. If there are multiple listings for the same location in the same year, then they will be arranged in order by month and day.
Publicity & Fundraising Poster Stamps will be listed, within each subcategory, alphabetically by group or organization name.
There will also be other groupings included on this website, click on the heading to see more detailed information:
Poster Stamp "Sets" or "Series"
In some cases, individual advertisers may issue extensive sets of poster stamps with a common theme. Sometimes the theme will relate to the business line or products sold, other times it may feature other topics. These sets may be illustrated on a separate page in order to keep the main pages more concise.
Common Design Types
Sometimes a publisher will issue poster stamps that constitute a set or series, and are available for use by multiple advertisers. The advertiser's information may be overprinted, or it may be integrated into the design
Poster Stamps by Printer
Sometimes, groups of poster stamps were created by individual printers that had a unified theme or appearance, even though they were issued for different advertisers.
Additionally, some collectors arrange their holdings by specific printer.
Some of these specialized groupings will also be illustrated.
Poster Stamp Albums
Some poster stamp albums were generic, with blank pages or simple gridlines.
There were also issue specific poster stamp albums, some only designed for a single set or series.
I have also seen a few poster stamp albums that were issued by specific poster stamp printers and publishers, some of which have illustrations provided for specific stamps.
Finally, there are albums issued by sponsors of collecting competitions.
These will also be illustrated on this website.
How were poster stamps created and issued?
One of the interesting features of poster stamps is that there are several different methods that printers and publishers used to market them to advertisers.
Larger, or wealthier, businesses might hire a graphic artist to create a custom design for them, and then that piece of artwork could be taken to a printing house that offered advertising stamps as a product line.
Some printers specialized in this sort of work, and they had large staffs, including artists, to design advertising stamps for clients. They would offer a complete solution for businesses. Their services might include layout design and artwork, as well as help with the message to be included on the stamp.
If a business did not want to spend the money to create a custom design, many printers offered "stock" image stamps, and the advertiser's details or message could be overprinted on one, or many, of the stock design stamps available.
Sometimes these stock designs would be tailored towards specific types of businesses, or they could contain random images.
There was also a hybrid style of advertising stamp available. It would feature a stock design, generally tailored to match the type of business. But the business name and address, and sometimes additional messaging, would be incorporated into the design of the stamp itself (rather than applied later as an overprint)
Quite often, advertising stamps would be issued as multiple designs in a "set", usually with cohesive elements within the set. Sometimes the stamps were numbered within the set.
One of the interesting features of poster stamps is that there are several different methods that printers and publishers used to market them to advertisers.
Larger, or wealthier, businesses might hire a graphic artist to create a custom design for them, and then that piece of artwork could be taken to a printing house that offered advertising stamps as a product line.
Some printers specialized in this sort of work, and they had large staffs, including artists, to design advertising stamps for clients. They would offer a complete solution for businesses. Their services might include layout design and artwork, as well as help with the message to be included on the stamp.
If a business did not want to spend the money to create a custom design, many printers offered "stock" image stamps, and the advertiser's details or message could be overprinted on one, or many, of the stock design stamps available.
Sometimes these stock designs would be tailored towards specific types of businesses, or they could contain random images.
There was also a hybrid style of advertising stamp available. It would feature a stock design, generally tailored to match the type of business. But the business name and address, and sometimes additional messaging, would be incorporated into the design of the stamp itself (rather than applied later as an overprint)
Quite often, advertising stamps would be issued as multiple designs in a "set", usually with cohesive elements within the set. Sometimes the stamps were numbered within the set.
How were poster stamps used?
Once a business decided to use poster stamps, and secured a supply of them, they would then decide how to use them to their advantage. Because advertising poster stamps came into widespread use in the early years of the twentieth century, they were the most affordable means a business had to use color as an advertising medium. At this time, color illustrations in magazines or newspapers were generally not available. But poster stamps could be used to add color and interest to a business' marketing plan.
The most frequent use of advertising stamps was either affixed to invoices, letterheads, or envelopes. Because many postal authorities feared that people might try to use advertising stamps instead of postage stamps on mailpieces, the non-postal stamps were usually only permitted on the back of the envelope. However, this rule was not always followed.
At some point, consumers began to save these colorful advertising stamps, just as collectors began saving postage stamps shortly after their introduction half a century earlier.
Businesses decided that a new opportunity was available to them for outreach and engagement with their customers. These advertising poster stamps could be offered, as collectibles, directly to customers. They could be given away with, or without, a purchase. They could be "issued" on a serial basis, which encouraged repeat visits to the business. And, albums were created for the collectors, into which they could mount their acquisitions in the same way that postage stamp collectors would mount their stamps.
(There is also apocryphal evidence to support the argument that the popularity of poster stamp collecting rivaled that of postage stamp collecting in the early twentieth century.)
The new fad of poster stamp collecting could be used in ways that traditional stamp collecting could not, because the distribution of poster stamps was entirely done by private enterprise.
One of the common occurrances was for a newspaper to organize a contest among many businesses. The newspaper would print special albums, and provide publicity, and the businesses involved would provide goods, cash, or product credit, as contest prizes. Consumers would be encouraged to visit as many businesses as possible and collect the poster stamps offered therein, and mount them into their albums. Once their album was complete, they would bring it to the newspaper (or other contest sponsor), who would mark the album, and register the submission into the contest. The winners were chosen by random drawing from submitted entries. The lucky winner would receive a nice prize, and even the non-winners would keep their albums as a souvenir.
Because many poster stamps were collected by children, and also because they were not considered to be in the same league with traditional postage stamps, they were not always treated with care.
Poster stamps were frequently mounted in albums or notebooks with their own gum, or with "stamp hinges" made from pieces of other stamps or the marginal selvage from stamp sheets. School children would leaf through their albums frequently, and trade with other collectors, often by simply tearing the stamp out of their album. As a result, there are a tremendous number of poster stamps that are quite shabby in appearance, and often have significant damage. In many cases this damage is overlooked to some degree, because the main focus of poster stamp collectors is the image itself.
Once a business decided to use poster stamps, and secured a supply of them, they would then decide how to use them to their advantage. Because advertising poster stamps came into widespread use in the early years of the twentieth century, they were the most affordable means a business had to use color as an advertising medium. At this time, color illustrations in magazines or newspapers were generally not available. But poster stamps could be used to add color and interest to a business' marketing plan.
The most frequent use of advertising stamps was either affixed to invoices, letterheads, or envelopes. Because many postal authorities feared that people might try to use advertising stamps instead of postage stamps on mailpieces, the non-postal stamps were usually only permitted on the back of the envelope. However, this rule was not always followed.
At some point, consumers began to save these colorful advertising stamps, just as collectors began saving postage stamps shortly after their introduction half a century earlier.
Businesses decided that a new opportunity was available to them for outreach and engagement with their customers. These advertising poster stamps could be offered, as collectibles, directly to customers. They could be given away with, or without, a purchase. They could be "issued" on a serial basis, which encouraged repeat visits to the business. And, albums were created for the collectors, into which they could mount their acquisitions in the same way that postage stamp collectors would mount their stamps.
(There is also apocryphal evidence to support the argument that the popularity of poster stamp collecting rivaled that of postage stamp collecting in the early twentieth century.)
The new fad of poster stamp collecting could be used in ways that traditional stamp collecting could not, because the distribution of poster stamps was entirely done by private enterprise.
One of the common occurrances was for a newspaper to organize a contest among many businesses. The newspaper would print special albums, and provide publicity, and the businesses involved would provide goods, cash, or product credit, as contest prizes. Consumers would be encouraged to visit as many businesses as possible and collect the poster stamps offered therein, and mount them into their albums. Once their album was complete, they would bring it to the newspaper (or other contest sponsor), who would mark the album, and register the submission into the contest. The winners were chosen by random drawing from submitted entries. The lucky winner would receive a nice prize, and even the non-winners would keep their albums as a souvenir.
Because many poster stamps were collected by children, and also because they were not considered to be in the same league with traditional postage stamps, they were not always treated with care.
Poster stamps were frequently mounted in albums or notebooks with their own gum, or with "stamp hinges" made from pieces of other stamps or the marginal selvage from stamp sheets. School children would leaf through their albums frequently, and trade with other collectors, often by simply tearing the stamp out of their album. As a result, there are a tremendous number of poster stamps that are quite shabby in appearance, and often have significant damage. In many cases this damage is overlooked to some degree, because the main focus of poster stamp collectors is the image itself.
How are poster stamps collected today?
Poster stamps from around the world, as a collectible, have seen a resurgance in the last few decades. Sometimes, the scopes of a collection is similar to the scope of typical postage stamp collections.
Collections are usually formed based on geography or by topic / theme. Collecting parameters such as date ranges are sometimes used as well, but mostly in conjunction with event publicity poster stamps, or as a cutoff date for inclusion.
However, with poster stamps, the typical parameters can be addressed a little differently. For example, a traditional "geographic" collector could focus on a specific country or group of countries - but the poster stamp collector could easily form a collection based on a specific city, state, territory, county, etc. For the topical / thematic collector, there are many more topics and themes available with poster stamps than with traditional postage stamps. Another focus that seems to be more common among poster stamp collectors is to collect based on the artist who designed the stamps, or the printers who printed / published them.
Another type of collector, which seems to be unique to the poster stamp field, is the collector who doesn't care about the country of origin, or the topic depicted, or even the issue date. Their only interest in a stamp is how the image appeals to them aesthetically. It may be the overall design, the artistic style, or the use of color, but the eye appeal to the collector is the only important feature. When I was an active dealer on the "show circuit" I had collectors who would sit at my table and recount the consternation they would cause when approaching a traditional stamp dealer, because the traditional dealers don't really know how to respond when they ask "what do you collect?" only to be told, "I can't really answer that, but I will know if I want it when I see it."
The main thing to remember when collecting poster stamps, is that you make up your own rules about what you want to collect and why. There are no printed albums to force you into filling spaces. Make your own choices about what appeals to you and what doesn't, and have fun!
Poster stamps from around the world, as a collectible, have seen a resurgance in the last few decades. Sometimes, the scopes of a collection is similar to the scope of typical postage stamp collections.
Collections are usually formed based on geography or by topic / theme. Collecting parameters such as date ranges are sometimes used as well, but mostly in conjunction with event publicity poster stamps, or as a cutoff date for inclusion.
However, with poster stamps, the typical parameters can be addressed a little differently. For example, a traditional "geographic" collector could focus on a specific country or group of countries - but the poster stamp collector could easily form a collection based on a specific city, state, territory, county, etc. For the topical / thematic collector, there are many more topics and themes available with poster stamps than with traditional postage stamps. Another focus that seems to be more common among poster stamp collectors is to collect based on the artist who designed the stamps, or the printers who printed / published them.
Another type of collector, which seems to be unique to the poster stamp field, is the collector who doesn't care about the country of origin, or the topic depicted, or even the issue date. Their only interest in a stamp is how the image appeals to them aesthetically. It may be the overall design, the artistic style, or the use of color, but the eye appeal to the collector is the only important feature. When I was an active dealer on the "show circuit" I had collectors who would sit at my table and recount the consternation they would cause when approaching a traditional stamp dealer, because the traditional dealers don't really know how to respond when they ask "what do you collect?" only to be told, "I can't really answer that, but I will know if I want it when I see it."
The main thing to remember when collecting poster stamps, is that you make up your own rules about what you want to collect and why. There are no printed albums to force you into filling spaces. Make your own choices about what appeals to you and what doesn't, and have fun!
Sources and Bibliography
Most of the information found in this website derives from the stamps themselves.
Sometimes there will be a reference made to other sources of information as follows:
Begtrup - In the 1950s, Dr. Erik Begtrup authored a series of listings of various types of poster stamps, mostly in the fields of Publicity and Fundraising. They were created under the auspices of Danmarks Julemærkesamler Forening (The Danish Christmas Seal Collectors Society). These listings were intended to be forerunners to a more comprehensive catalog of this type of material. Unfortunately, the full range of intended listings was never produced, but the remaining listings have been invaluable for organizing this material.
Gardiner & Greiczek - in 2014 Stewart Gardiner and Steve Greiczek compiled A General Illustrated Catalogue of Exhibition and Event Poster Stamps to 1914. This monumental work was sponsored and published by the Cinderella Stamp Club in the UK, and was the culmination of many years of research by many CSC members, and built on the foundations laid by the Cazin & Rochas catalog of 1914.
Gyrsting & Poulsen - In 1995 Niels Gyrsting & Peter Poulsen wrote Mærkatpropaganda I Danmark - Antifascistiske & Fascistiske Mærkater & Støttemærker 1930-1945 (Propaganda Stamps in Denmark - Anti-Fascist and Fascist Poster Stamps & Fundraising Stamps 1930-1945). This catalog was published by Møntsamlerens Forlag (Coin Collecters Publishing) under the auspices of Møntklubben Poletten - Fraktion 2, Verdenskrig (Token Collectors Club, WWII Section). A portion of this catalog was updated in 2012 by Peter Poulsen & Max Bjarne Hansen, with the title Nationalsocialistiske mærkater Danmark 1930-1945 (National Socialist stamps of Denmark 1930-1945).
Hartvigsen - In 1920, A. Hartvigsen published a small catalog with a large name: Illustreret Katalog 1885-1920 over Jule-, Velgørenheds- og Foreningsmærker samt Udstillings- og Lejlighedsmærker fra Danmark, Island, Dansk Vestindien, Sønderjylland, Norge, Sverige og Finland (Illustrated Catalog 1885-1920 of Chrismas-, Charity- and Organization Seals, together with Exhibition and Event seals from Denmark, Iceland, Danish West Indies, South Jutland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. This catalog formed the basis of many later listings and, in the 1980s, John B. Denune and Thorkild Paaby published a fully illustrated English translation of this catalog.
Kiddle - Charles Kiddle, of the UK, has been one of the driving forces, over the past several decades, in the study and promotion of classic poster stamps. He has published dozens of catalogs on poster stamps of all types, mostly arranged by topic. Of particular note for the purposes of this website, are the two volumes published in 2003, entitled The Andreasen & Lachmann Numbered Poster Stamps 1913 - 1914. In addition, there are many other Danish Poster Stamps scattered throughout several of his other catalogs as well.
Online sources were also used extensively, for background information about organizations and businesses.
Some of the sources used most frequently are:
Wikipedia, which is a free, online encyclopedia. It is part of the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts many online projects.
Krak's Vejviser, which is a series of commercial and residential directories published from 1770 through 2007. They are presented online by Københavns Biblioteker, and provide a wealth of facts about Danish businesses, such as addresses, telephone numbers, ownership, etc.
Danmarks Ældste Forretninger - Denmark's Oldest Businesses, published 1950 by Kraks Legat, Copenhagen. This is a book with details of Denmark's oldest established businesses.
Other online sources used will be noted as appropriate.
Most of the information found in this website derives from the stamps themselves.
Sometimes there will be a reference made to other sources of information as follows:
Begtrup - In the 1950s, Dr. Erik Begtrup authored a series of listings of various types of poster stamps, mostly in the fields of Publicity and Fundraising. They were created under the auspices of Danmarks Julemærkesamler Forening (The Danish Christmas Seal Collectors Society). These listings were intended to be forerunners to a more comprehensive catalog of this type of material. Unfortunately, the full range of intended listings was never produced, but the remaining listings have been invaluable for organizing this material.
Gardiner & Greiczek - in 2014 Stewart Gardiner and Steve Greiczek compiled A General Illustrated Catalogue of Exhibition and Event Poster Stamps to 1914. This monumental work was sponsored and published by the Cinderella Stamp Club in the UK, and was the culmination of many years of research by many CSC members, and built on the foundations laid by the Cazin & Rochas catalog of 1914.
Gyrsting & Poulsen - In 1995 Niels Gyrsting & Peter Poulsen wrote Mærkatpropaganda I Danmark - Antifascistiske & Fascistiske Mærkater & Støttemærker 1930-1945 (Propaganda Stamps in Denmark - Anti-Fascist and Fascist Poster Stamps & Fundraising Stamps 1930-1945). This catalog was published by Møntsamlerens Forlag (Coin Collecters Publishing) under the auspices of Møntklubben Poletten - Fraktion 2, Verdenskrig (Token Collectors Club, WWII Section). A portion of this catalog was updated in 2012 by Peter Poulsen & Max Bjarne Hansen, with the title Nationalsocialistiske mærkater Danmark 1930-1945 (National Socialist stamps of Denmark 1930-1945).
Hartvigsen - In 1920, A. Hartvigsen published a small catalog with a large name: Illustreret Katalog 1885-1920 over Jule-, Velgørenheds- og Foreningsmærker samt Udstillings- og Lejlighedsmærker fra Danmark, Island, Dansk Vestindien, Sønderjylland, Norge, Sverige og Finland (Illustrated Catalog 1885-1920 of Chrismas-, Charity- and Organization Seals, together with Exhibition and Event seals from Denmark, Iceland, Danish West Indies, South Jutland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. This catalog formed the basis of many later listings and, in the 1980s, John B. Denune and Thorkild Paaby published a fully illustrated English translation of this catalog.
Kiddle - Charles Kiddle, of the UK, has been one of the driving forces, over the past several decades, in the study and promotion of classic poster stamps. He has published dozens of catalogs on poster stamps of all types, mostly arranged by topic. Of particular note for the purposes of this website, are the two volumes published in 2003, entitled The Andreasen & Lachmann Numbered Poster Stamps 1913 - 1914. In addition, there are many other Danish Poster Stamps scattered throughout several of his other catalogs as well.
Online sources were also used extensively, for background information about organizations and businesses.
Some of the sources used most frequently are:
Wikipedia, which is a free, online encyclopedia. It is part of the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts many online projects.
Krak's Vejviser, which is a series of commercial and residential directories published from 1770 through 2007. They are presented online by Københavns Biblioteker, and provide a wealth of facts about Danish businesses, such as addresses, telephone numbers, ownership, etc.
Danmarks Ældste Forretninger - Denmark's Oldest Businesses, published 1950 by Kraks Legat, Copenhagen. This is a book with details of Denmark's oldest established businesses.
Other online sources used will be noted as appropriate.